Alyssa Healy has produced outstanding consecutive hundreds to lead her squad into the last four of the World Cup, driving them to a dominant 10-wicket win over Bangladesh.
The wicketkeeper-batter finished not out on 113 runs, coming just a few days after her equally impressive 142-run knock that defeated the Indian team at the same Visakhapatnam venue. This time, she shared an unbroken double-century opening partnership with her opening partner (84no) to dash to their target of 199 runs in just 24.5 deliveries.
“I felt I was a below par with the gloves, and perhaps a bit as captain as well today, but we’ll accept the two points and move on,” she said.
Interestingly, the utmost professionalism of Thursday’s run-chase as the pair put on 202 runs followed possibly Australia’s weakest performance in the field under Healy’s stewardship, with the skipper criticizing herself in especial for spilling a couple of the half-dozen chances that were missed.
“I felt somewhat let down with my wicketkeeping, and I needed to compensate with the bat, and fortunately delivered,” she added.
Since statistics was initially recorded on fielding statistics in 2013, the half-dozen missed catches marked the team's poorest fielding display at a World Cup tournament.
“Maybe it’s just that phase of the competition – we’ve been here a little while, and it’s something we’ll review,” the captain commented.
This allowed the opposition to manage 198 for 9 after they had opted to bat, their highest score in an ODI against the Aussies, with a key batter scoring the first fifty ever for the Asian side against the reigning champions.
But the spinner's spellbinding continuous ten-over spell, in which she claimed two wickets for 18 runs with four maiden overs, was vital to making sure Australia’s chase remained manageable.
The Captain Pleased with Win that Seals Semi-Final Place
The Australian skipper was delighted to learn that the triumph, which places her undefeated side top of the standings on nine points after four victories and a wash-out, secures them a place in the semi-finals. “That's fantastic,” she exclaimed.
The 35-year-old captain sped to her century off just 73 deliveries, the fastest hundred of the World Cup, and finished with 20 boundaries off the 77 balls she faced as she pulled away from her partner in the latter stages in the innings after they had gone practically shot for shot towards their fifties.
The Opener Shines with First World Cup Half-Century
Left-hander Litchfield hit 12 boundaries and a six, reaching to her first World Cup fifty off 46 balls soon after her partner got there off 43. They went on to record the third-highest stand by any Aussie pair at a World Cup event.
In the first innings, during the sluggish fielding effort, Healy dropped the simplest of chances off a teammate and also was unable to hold on to a difficult skied one off another bowler. Annoyingly, she also did take a clear catch off the same bowler but didn’t have it reviewed when the official rejected their shout.
The reinstated Darcie Brown bowled the fastest deliveries at the tournament so far but was nonetheless the Aussies’ most expensive bowler, going for 0-52 off her nine overs.
Spin Attack Thrive as King Leads
Instead, the spinners excelled, spearheaded by Alana King, whose spell could have been even more productive if Beth Mooney hadn’t dropped one in the slip cordon.
Other spinners Wareham (two for 22 off seven) and Gardner (2-48 off nine overs) both chipped in, while Annabel Sutherland strengthened her position as the competition's leading wicket-taker with her two for 41, taking her total to 13.
Rubya Haider’s 44 and Mostary’s unbeaten 66 runs off 80 deliveries took the team to their highest-ever total against the Aussies, but the total was rendered straightforward by a side who had chased down 330 against the Indian side four days before.
“It's fantastic when you’ve got the ‘Q’ next to your name in a global tournament,” said player-of-the-match King. “Certainly it won't end here. We look forward to going back to Indore to face the English team and the Proteas.”
